Product Description

Designed for use with compact, 35mm and small digital cameras. The strong die-cast construction, precision-machined aluminum housing and extremely hard phenolic resin ball provide excellent smooth movements across all tilt positions. A single ratchet control lever securely locks both the +90° -90° ball and the 360° pan movements. Head to tripod attachment is 3/8" female. This version of the 484 head is fitted with a quick release 3157N camera plate system with a secondary safety catch.

Product Details

• Brand: Bogen
• Model: 484RC2
• Released on: 2006-04-14
• Dimensions: 4.00" h x 4.00" w x 7.00" l, 3.00 pounds

Features

• Versatile head fitted with a 3157N quick-release camera plate and a secondary safety catch
• Perfect for 35mm SLR cameras with medium lenses, and light medium format cameras
• Strong die-cast construction, precision machined aluminum housing
• Extremely hard phenolic resin ball which provides smoother movements across all tilt positions
• Single indexed ratchet locking knob for 360-degree pan and a double groove for +90 to -90-degree tilt movements

From the Manufacturer
The Bogen-Manfrotto 484RC2 is a versatile head fitted with a 3157N quick-release camera plate and a secondary safety catch. This head is perfect for 35mm SLR cameras with medium lenses, and light medium format cameras. A direct replacement of the 3262QR Midi Ball Head, the 484RC2 features a strong die-cast construction, precision machined aluminum housing, and an extremely hard phenolic resin ball which provides smoother movements across all tilt positions. It has a single indexed ratchet locking knob for 360-degree pan and a double groove for +90 to -90-degree tilt movements. Camera plate has a 1/4-20-inch male thread, and head to tripod attachment is 3/8-inch female. Optional Plates: 200PL-38, 200PLARCH-14, 200PLARCH-38.

Features include:

• Sturdy all-metal construction.
• The double 90-degree groove (one on each side of the head) means switching from landscape to portrait is convenient however you're set up.
• The compact, rectangular 200PL quick release plate system fits neatly under small-bodied still cameras up to SLR (even with tele lenses) or small medium format, or under small video cameras or spotting scopes. Its rubber pad gives a good grip without damaging the camera, and its angled sides ensure that it also fits perfectly and tightly into a wide range of Manfrotto heads
• This head features a secondary security lock so you can't accidentally release the plate (and camera) without meaning to. The lock stops the quick release lever from opening fully.
• A repositionable ratchet means that the locking lever's action will never be blocked either open or closed by interference with the camera body, tripod shoulder, etc... simply pull the lever outwards and it's free to be positioned more comfortably without affecting the locking mechanism. Then you can continue tightening or loosening the knob.
• A convenient single locking mechanism blocks or frees movement on all axes for greater speed of use.

Customer Reviews

Inexpensive and well built
I had a very tight budget when I bought my ball head and tripod but I still wanted something that was well made and built to last yet not real expensive. This ball head fits that bill nicely. It does it job and is solid and secure. I feel very comfortable with it attached to my Manfrotto 055XB tripod.

I had never used a ball head before now, I had always had those cheepo all in one tripods. What a dramatic difference. The lever to tighten is very easy to use and makes it easy to adjust even when not having it completely tight. The ball head moves easily. Its a pleasure to use.

Manfrotto excellent as usual
This head does what it's supposed to do, with good looks and solid construction. It is a good alternative to a 3-way pan head or a larger ball. It handles a full-size DSLR with tele-zoom without wobbling, and has fine friction adjustment (allowing small movements without suddenly falling over). It also allows a vertical position on either side of the groove, with an adjustable knob that never gets in the way. The only deduction (4 versus 5 stars) is for the lack of a pan adjustment. Quite often this is the only parameter that needs to be adjusted, once vertical and horizontal lines are established, but with this head it's all or nothing. In other words, I would not recommend this head if you specialize in architectural subjects. It is still a great head, though, because it's tiny yet powerful, and really lightweight, so it is a useful travel tripod and has the simplicity of a ball head for shooting sports, theater, etc. The head also does not have any locking bolts to fix it to the tripod, and this could be a problem if you inadvertently allow it to loosen over time (voila, there's your "pan" adjustment!), but if you're attentive to this, it's not a problem, especially if you expect to switch it out regularly with an alternate head and don't want to carry a screwdriver.

Works great on a Joby Gorillapod SLR -ZOOM
I got this for my Joby Gorillapod SLR-Zoom and it works very nicely. Very quick and easy to adjust and very solid (the Gpod itself obviously isn't as solid as a normal tripod). Head is quite heavy.

btw: This holds a D80 with the 18-135 kit lens perfectly fine on a pair of normal legs (i've tested this).


-jeff